U of G prof’s research is extending the life of nuclear reactors

Guelph Mercury

GUELPH — Dr. Peter Tremaine will receive $255,600 over the next three years to continue research that will help extend the life of Canada's nuclear reactors.

The funding comes from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the University Network of Excellence in Nuclear Engineering. This funding is geared to university and private-sector projects expected to yield industrial and economic benefits to Canada.

"Peter's work is helping us address global energy problems," Kevin Hall, vice-president (research) states in a release. "He is a global leader in the field, and his research group is one of only a few in the world with the expertise and equipment for this work."

Tremaine is the former dean of the College of Physical and Engineering Science on campus and he's spent more than a decade studying chemistry under extreme heat and pressure. These are exactly the characteristics inside Canada's pressurized heavy water CANDU nuclear reactors.

His work to date has helped in refurbishing nuclear reactors in Ontario, the release states. For the last stage of his heavy water study, Tremaine will learn more about the chemistry of corrosion in heavy water under high temperatures and pressures.

The CANDU reactors were designed to use heavy water in a closed loop to transfer heat from the reactor core to a steam generator.

"CANDU reactors were originally built for 30 years, and then refurbished and redesigned to try to extend those lifetimes by another 20 to 30 years,'' Tremaine states.

"There is a need to optimize the chemistry in order to preserve the tubes in the reactors which transport the water. We want to extend the lifespan by preventing corrosion."

This latest grant brings Tremaine's government and industry funding to more than $550,000 a year for research targeted at green energy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Concerns over global warming make it important to look for alternatives to burning fossil fuels.

"Nuclear power is a major carbon-free sustainable energy source, and it's impossible to envision a solution to greenhouse gas emissions that does not include nuclear energy," he states.

Tremaine is also interested in designing the next generation of nuclear reactor. One design heats up water to 600 degrees Celsius — about twice the heat as steam made in conventional reactors. Energy efficient and safer, these new reactors would also generate hydrogen, which can be used in fuel cells in future generations of cars.

Tremaine's research team is also studying ways to capture and store carbon dioxide produced at fossil fuel power stations